Indebted
by mentalfictions
Summary: Fate keeps throwin' them right back together again. It doesn't take long for trouble to find them again, and this time around Fuu might just have to do some of the saving herself.
1. Aimless

It's been quite some time since I've published (or even written) fanfiction, so here's my attempt to jump back into it. Funny how I pick to write about a show that I feel has some very strong characterizations that, in my opinion, can be pretty difficult to get right. Here's my attempt...

Chapter 1 / Aimless

"Are you _sure _this is the right way?" Fuu eyed the pair of samurai ambling ahead of her in suspicion. For the past four hours, they had been wandering east through a sizeable forest, following a path that was barely visible beyond the reaching arms of the shrubbery and patchy grass.

She didn't know why she continued to trust them when it came to navigating through the lush forests that surrounded the small towns of the countryside. It seemed that whenever they were in charge of directions, the group seemed to find their way into trouble. They seemed to find themselves in trouble regardless, but Fuu liked to blame it on them anyway. It was her way of getting back at them for not letting her lead the way because of something along the lines her _being a woman_ and _not having a sense of direction_. Fuu wrinkled her nose at the memory. _Jerks._

Realizing that neither man was going to answer her, Fuu's assumption that they were, once again, lost seemed to be confirmed. A sigh slipped past her lips before she could stop it, and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Really, you guys? I thought you were sure this was the right way to go…"

"Considering that we were able to bypass that checkpoint before we were spotted is well worth the risk of getting lost." Jin spoke up from in front of her, and Fuu straightened, glaring boldly at the back of his head.

"But you're not denying that we're lost." Her voice was deadpan as she began dragging her feet through the dirt, nonplussed by her bodyguard's nonchalant attitude. She didn't deny that they weren't in the best standings with the government. Not one of them could legally pass through a checkpoint with their heads still attached to their bodies, but that didn't mean that her two male counterparts could lead her aimlessly through the forest!

"Oh quit yer bitchin'." Mugen didn't even glance her way as he addressed her. "We're gettin' somewhere and that's all that matters."

Fuu furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth to protest, but before she could utter a word, Jin came to a sudden stop, bringing his companions to a halt.

"For once, I agree with him. Where exactly is it that we're supposed to be going?" He turned his inquisitive gaze on Fuu, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his slender nose. Fuu had been with him long enough to know that it was something he did only when mildly irritated. She couldn't help but squirm under his gaze, realizing that his question was a legitimate one.

It was one she'd actually been trying not to think about since they'd met back up only a few weeks after they'd split from each other. The reunification of their group only served to remind Fuu of something Mugen had once said: "No matter what we do, fate keeps throwing us right back together!" She couldn't deny the truth in that statement now after they'd split multiple times, only to be brought back together again. Even if they were somehow split up now, Fuu was sure they'd find each other again, even if it took a little while. It was something she had come to accept after their most recent reunion. Their time with each other wasn't meant to end quite yet.

Fuu let out another dejected sigh, realizing that she couldn't put off the question any longer. With Mugen, it'd be a simple task to redirect the conversation to a safer topic, but with Jin it would be nearly impossible.

"Well I haven't exactly thought about it…"

"Can't say that's somethin' new." Mugen tossed an irritated glare in her direction, scratching the back of his head idly. The girl couldn't help but feel her patience wither and die underneath his gaze.

"Look who's talking, jerk!" Crossing her arms, Fuu took a defiant stance in front of him. She could take Jin's probing questions, but Mugen's insults were a different thing entirely. She wasn't about to put up with offhand comments from someone who was constantly flying by the seat of their pants through life or death situations.

"Are ya tryin' to say somethin', ya little wench?!"

"Yeah, I'm trying to say that you're an _idiot_!" A scowled crossed the unkempt swordsman's face as he stared down the girl in front of him, refusing to be beaten by her in a game of insults.

"Whatever. If there's anyone around here who's an idiot, it's the one who traveled across the countryside looking for some smelly guy with no way to know where he was!" He lifted a hand from his side to point at her accusingly, adding, "It only took us weeks to find out anything on the guy!"

At the mention of the sunflower samurai, Fuu felt herself go rigid, still not completely at terms with the end of her journey. With something akin to frustration burning through her veins, she turned her back to the two men.

"For your information, _you_ also chased after him! If I'm an idiot, that you're an even bigger one for following me!" With that, Fuu began to stomp back in the direction they had come from, kicking up dust and stray rocks along the way. There was no way she was going to hang around when the tattooed pirate was trying to antagonize her—especially when it was about the sunflower samurai.

A growl escaped from Mugen's throat as he watched the petite girl stroll down the pathway, unable to come up with anything convincing to shout at her retreating form.

"Walked straight into that one…"

"Shut it, four eyes." Mugen placed a calloused hand on his chin and rubbed at the stubble there in annoyance. He hated taking shit from anyone, let alone Jin. "If I'm an idiot for followin' her ass around, than so are you."

"I don't believe that was the point of her insult." A rare smirk twisted its way on the pale samurai's face. Fed up with losing a war of words with both of his companions, Mugen turned from the other swordsman, facing back down the trail they had been following.

"Oh, shut the hell up."

Fuu trudged along the nearly hidden path until the anger burning in her chest began to dissipate with the dying light of the sun. Stopping underneath the shade of a leaning tree, she crouched down on the ground and put her arms around her knees, burying her face in the folds of her kimono.

_Why does he have to be such an insensitive jerk?_

The thought had been repeatedly running through her head during her trek away from the duo. _Why do I put up with his crap even now that I don't have a reason to be around him?_

Fuu rummaged around in her brain for any clues, but she failed to come up with a plausible explanation. When she thought of Mugen or Jin and why she still traveled with them, her brain utterly failed to come up with any sort of answer. Her heart however, was a different story altogether. She knew she had come to care for the two somewhere along their journey. They had taken care of her, albeit in their own way. Whenever she thought of the two, there was a warmth in her chest that told her that she had become attached to them.

_But is that really any reason to stick together? If we all make each other miserable…_

The thought came to the surface of her mind unbidden, and Fuu screwed her eyes shut to block it out. There had to be a reason they had all met up again. Fate had brought them together again for a reason. Or at least she hoped. Since the incident on Ikitsuki Island, nothing had seemed to be certain in her life—she had been living day to day in Nagasaki, trying to scrounge up enough money for food and housing. It hadn't been anything she hadn't done when she had sought out the sunflower samurai, but without her bodyguards, the times she had spent sleeping outside or going hungry had seemed somehow harder.

When a chance encounter reunited her with the only people she had ever considered close enough to be her friends, Fuu had felt like some sort of stability had returned to her life—or at least as stable as anything could be when Mugen was around. Jin wasn't as bad, but they both seemed to draw more mishaps into her life with their antics.

Despite herself, Fuu felt her lips tilt into a small smile as she thought about the ridiculous adventures she'd had with the two swordsmen. It had been a long journey to the western half of the country, but in the end…

"…over there…" A slight breeze tousled Fuu's dark hair, carrying along fragments of voices. Startled, she lifted her head from her knees and tried to discern where the voices were coming from. She almost wondered if it was Mugen and Jin trying to find her, but quickly dismissed the idea as _more_ than highly unlikely. From past experiences, she knew they were more likely to leave her on her own when she got into what Mugen referred to as "one o' them bitchy moods," and sometimes she thanked him for having a sense of personal space, even if he probably didn't mean to do her any favors by it. And then there were the times when Fuu realized this was likely the reason that she seemed to be the victim of frequent kidnappings.

Regardless of the reasoning, Mugen and Jin would never come after her, at least not so soon after she had stormed off in a rage. With that in mind, Fuu knew that meeting people along the road usually meant disaster, and with their small group being so close to a checkpoint, it would be dangerous to be spotted off of the main road.

Not rising from her crouch, Fuu shuffled as quickly as she could behind the thin line of foliage that she had been squatting next to. Shifting onto her hands and knees, she took cover behind a tree barely wide enough to hide her slim frame, but with the voices coming closer, she couldn't risk making any more of a ruckus trying to find a better spot to hide. The soft padding of muted footsteps reached Fuu's ears and she stiffened against the tree, feeling her heart pound frantically against the inside of her chest.

"Here," a man's hushed voice rumbled from the direction that Fuu had crawled away from. "Look, there are the scuff marks. They definitely came this way."

A grunt of affirmation echoed the man's statement, and Fuu had to strain to hear the quiet footfalls as they began moving away from her.

"Are you really sure it's worth this much effort to track these guys down?" A man with a higher voice questioned, and the girl strained her ears further to catch the conversation as it moved on further down the path.

"Personally I'm unsure, but if this is what… shogunate wants… then…" The voices gradually moved out of earshot, and Fuu felt both relief and mild annoyance course through her. She had managed to escape detection, but at the same time, these men were looking for someone. And these were the _shogun's_ men. Someone was in trouble. A sense of unease crept into her gut, and she gulped as she remembered the duo she had stomped away from earlier in the day.

_And I can only guess who these men are after…_

Gritting her teeth, Fuu silently cursed. They were almost more trouble then they were worth...

Feeling something warm squirm around in the front of her kimono, Fuu smiled down at Momo as his head appeared out of her collar.

"Well Momo, let's see if we can't help those two idiots out this time around." At her words, the animal merely looked at her and blinked. Thinking on her words, the girl couldn't help but laugh to herself uncertainly. "Or at least we can try..."

Let me know what you think.


	2. When Flying Rats Attack

Hello~ I'm fairly certain that this chapter is miles ahead of the first seeing as I went through it and tweaked it multiple times, as well as had a friend beta. This chapter actually gets things moving a bit into the direction I really want the story to go, but it probably won't be until the next chapter that the Fuugen feels start coming around. I find it really difficult to write Mugen in particular, and in order to get him to where I want him emotionally in terms of Fuu, it takes a little while.

Anyway, here it is. Thanks to the person who reviewed. :3

Chapter 2 / When Flying Rats Attack

Mugen shifted onto his back in front of a small fire, a scowl clearly outlined on his face in the flickering light. On such a hot and humid night, a fire was a rather stupid idea, as he had put it to his glasses-wearing comrade. Jin had merely shaken his head and mentioned something about using it to attract their missing third companion. Mugen had just stared at him for a moment, noting that a fire could also attract the checkpoint patrol if they happened to smell the fire, before also noting that attracting the wrong kind of attention could also merit its own rewards for him.

Sweat began to bead in between Mugen's shoulder blades and he flipped onto his stomach, flinging his sweaty haori off to the side. A few more tiny droplets of perspiration ran down the side of his face and he wiped them away quickly with a dirty palm. The fire wasn't extremely warm, but it was putting off enough heat to make him even more uncomfortable, and the fact that they had to keep it lit for a girl who constantly let her temper get the better of her was furthering his irritation.

It had been hours since the pink clad girl had departed from her so-called bodyguards, and he began to feel a twitch of annoyance inch its way up his spine.

_She always does this shit_, he mused irritably, _and she wonders why we have to save her ass all the time._

"No good bitch…" he mumbled under his breath, _almost_ wishing she would just come crawling back to them bitching about hunger and eating the entirely of their rations until they reached the next town.

"If you're going to continue to voice displeasure over the fact that she has yet to return, then either go look for her or calm yourself." Mugen shot Jin a heated glare. His daily quota of patience, which was nearly nothing as it was, was worn thin by the heat and the current subject of his thoughts.

"I could say the same for you, four-eyes. You've been sharpening your sword for how long now, waitin' for her to see the fire and come lookin' for some grub?"

The dark haired samurai pulled the whetstone away from his blade, putting them both down on the ground in front of him. He set his hands back on his lap limply, silently wondering over the girl that had disappeared hours earlier. Instinctually, he had known that it wasn't in their best interest to let her wander off unattended, but he also understood the need for a person to be alone with their thoughts. Traveling in a group with two battle-hardened samurai might provide her with protection, but it did not necessarily provide her with the privacy, or even the company that a young girl needed.

Reaching for his sword, Jin stood, sheathing it at his waist. Mugen eyed him lazily, not bothering to waste the energy to ask when he already had a solid idea as to what he intended to do. The pirate ran a hand through his sweat-streaked hair, a yawn passing over his features. He'd just sleep until the other man returned with their mutual pain in the ass in tow.

Somehow, though, he knew sleep would continue to elude him, and if he cared to look deeper into his own thoughts, he would see that it wasn't only because of the humidity. After years of striving (and succeeding) to mask his thoughts and emotions from others, he'd even managed to begin to hide certain things from himself—these things being unfamiliar thoughts and emotions that unsettled him from time to time. When he had first met Jin and Fuu, he had felt nothing except a slight curiosity, not counting the undeniable urge to kill the upright swordsman. He had been wandering aimlessly up until that point in his life, and if they would provide him with a little entertainment as well as, of course, food, then he could stomach waiting around to slay the skilled samurai.

But something had changed, as unwilling as he was to admit it to himself most days. It was only on nights like this where he was unable to fall right into a restful slumber that sometimes his mind managed to dig into some things he'd rather just let alone. The girl couldn't help but cross his thoughts some nights, though undoubtedly it was due largely to his inability to tolerate her attitude most times. However, sometimes he would find himself wondering over her in different ways…

Mugen's eyes had just drifted shut when a sudden soft scuffle alerted him, as well as Jin, to the presence of someone trying move silently just meters outside their makeshift camp. A smug grin curled on Mugen's tanned face as he felt the before-battle adrenaline begin to pump through his veins. Across the fire, he sensed Jin's own excitement for a chance at battle. The idleness of the day had been eating away at them both, and a quick battle to blow off some steam would likely give them some past due exercise.

"Well," Jin said aloud, hand gripped firmly around the hilt of his sword, "looks like we attracted attention all right, just the _wrong_ kind of attention."

Mugen let out a quick laugh in amusement before mumbling, "Like you mind the action. You get off on the excitement of battle just as much as I do, an' you know it."

A man stepped out of the shadows of the forest, his sugegasa pulled low across his forehead. In his dark haori and hakama, he nearly blended in with the shadowed scenery except for his eyes, which gleamed eerily in the amber light of the fire. He focused on the two rogue swordsmen, both of which were seemingly nonchalant at his sudden appearance.

Not one for formalities or patience, Mugen rolled lazily onto his back, his arms folded underneath his head.

"What d'ya want? I'm tryin' to get some shut eye, here."

The unknown man's mouth twitched at Mugen's words, and the antagonizing pirate couldn't help but smirk. This one would be a fairly easy target, not to mention the perfect way to blow off some steam and clear out his thoughts.

"I am Furukawa Hayato, under the direct command of the shogun himself." He dug into the sleeves of his dark haori and pulled out a compact scroll that had been sealed shut with a dark seal. He presented it to them with a quick jerk of his hand, holding it out for them to see. Jin's eyes flicked to the scroll and studied it for a moment before sliding back up to Furukawa's face, his guarded expression even and unchanged. Mugen didn't spare the document any of his attention at all.

The man continued on after noting the acknowledgement (or lack thereof) of the two wanted men.

"You are hereby accused and convicted of numerous crimes, including theft, murder, and treason…" At the last charge, Jin raised a skeptical eyebrow, but the man left no room for comment. "You can either come with us willingly to face an honorable death in Edo for your crimes, or if you'd rather, we can slice you up into pieces and take you back that way."

A snort erupted from Mugen, who was unimpressed at the man's not-so-subtle threat.

"You really think you can take us out all on yer own?" The ruffian's eyes flashed with dangerous glee. He could sense the inevitable slaughter like he could sense an oncoming storm. "Let's see just how good you assholes are!"

Pushing his body up with his arms, Mugen whipped his legs around in a circular motion, generating enough momentum to flip himself onto his feet before rushing off into shadowy forest behind Furukawa. Screams soon erupted as splashes of red flew with every stroke of his arm, painting the blackened forest with his sword.

Momentarily spooked by Mugen's show of impulsivity, Furukawa drew his sword just in time to reflect Jin's strike. Jin jumped back at the block, slipping back into the familiar stance of his sword style. From the way his opponent was standing, he knew that he wouldn't be all that difficult to kill. There were holes in his style that Jin could see even in the dim lighting.

_No, killing him would not be that difficult at all. However…_

Furukawa charged forward at Jin, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and bravado. Once again, Jin parried his attacks with ease, his mind not completely in the fight. Furukawa swung his sword again, aiming for Jin's abdomen, and the samurai jumped back, avoiding the attack altogether. Overreaching, Furukawa stumbled forward a step. Seizing the opportunity, the bespectacled samurai skillfully lunged forward so he was even with his adversary before jerking the hilt of his weapon forcefully into the pressure point that rested just underneath the man's jaw. He tumbled over harder than a stack of bricks.

Eyeing his work with a particular sort of pride, Jin stood for a moment, absorbing the sound of Mugen slashing mercilessly through another enemy. Deciding that the Ryukyuan was more than capable of dealing with the remaining men, he sheathed his sword and knelt down beside the groaning samurai.

He had questions, and this man would have answers. Just by Furukawa's attitude and the fact that he had been the one to address the duo with the charges, Jin knew that he had to be the leader of the band of samurai.

"Now, about those charges…"

Ridding his sword of blood with a quick flick, Mugen rushed at another man that appeared before him. He sped forward like a demon, pushing right through the man's guard and sliding the point of his blade across his chest. The man went down in a spraying arc of blood. Mugen couldn't help but feel both pleased and disappointed at the ranging displays of skill he had encountered. He didn't have a drop of blood on him—neither his nor another's—and that meant he was damn good, a fact he liked to reaffirm quite often. On the other hand, it also meant that it was too easy. He liked to sharpen his sword on skilled warriors, not mere meat bags holding swords.

Standing in the cover of the trees, Mugen's sharp eyes had slowly begun to adjust to the darkness, and he squinted to examine the shadows for any sign of movement. When a moment passed without any hint as to the whereabouts of his remaining adversaries, the practiced swordsman raised his sword hand to his forehead, wiping away the sweat that had continued to roll down from his hairline. He hated cowards that wouldn't come out and fight more than anything, and on his long list of shit that frequently pissed him off, it nearly topped everything else. And that was saying something.

"Fuckin' pussies," he called out, trying to rile the last couple of samurai into some sort of action. Another couple seconds passed with a movement or sound, and Mugen rested the blade of his sword over the back his shoulders, tapping it against himself in annoyance.

"Aren't you guys supposed to have some sort of honor code bullshit that you have to go by? I don't think that includes hidin' behind some bushes, ya limp-dicked assholes." He started off deeper into the shadows, his metal-plated geta clinking with every stride. "Even if you don't be a man and show yourselves, best believe I'll find ya. And when I do…"

He trailed off, wading out further in the sea of darkened foliage before him. A flurry of movement appeared to his left and Mugen dashed to greet it with steel. _There ya are!_

Rushing forward with a vertical slash, Mugen was rather disappointed when he realized his sword was slicing through the empty fabric of a haori rather than flesh and bone. The cloth fell away from his sword in two halves as his body came to a stop.

"'The hell… You guys are even bigger pussies than I thought," he grumbled, feeling his anger beginning to spike. As he was about to throw out another insult, more movement at his back drew his attention and he swiveled on his heel, slicing through more empty fabric.

_This shit is really gettin' old!_

The sliding of feet against hard ground alerted Mugen to the true whereabouts of an opponent, and he immediately dashed at him. Their blades met and Mugen pushed forward against the man's blade for a quick second before pulling back and sending a second slash toward an opening at his side. Surprisingly, the man was quick enough to block it, though only barely. With his foe's arms twisted at an awkward angle to ward off the blow, Mugen's face twisted into its signature smirk. He had him now.

A strong kick at the man's sword from his plated geta threw him back just far enough for Mugen to be able to pull back his blade and take a long step forward to drive the tip of the blade vertically into the man's gut and out of the top of his back. A wave of satisfaction rolled through Mugen as he heard the man's dying cries and felt the lifeblood run down the length of Typhoon Swell and onto his double-handed grip.

"Told ya I'd get ya." He couldn't help but gloat over his victory, despite the fact that it had been certain from the beginning. He twisted his sword for good measure and the man sagged against him. Leaning to push the dying man off of him, he let a small chuckle rumble through his lithe frame. "Shouldn't 'ave played games with me. Coulda gave ya quick death, but I ain't the most forgivin' man in the world."

The abrupt pounding of wooden geta behind him had Mugen craning his head to see who was coming at him. Another samurai with his weapon drawn was only a few meters away and Mugen tried to move his sword, only to realize that it was still embedded in his latest victim.

"Shit!" He grunted, trying to swing himself and his dying foe's body around to block the attack. The body was too heavy and his sword stubbornly refused to come loose at the angle he was standing. Mugen knew it that moment that he might just be fucked.

Something small and brown whizzed by Mugen's ear as his enemy was merely a pace or two away, and suddenly the attacker let out a yell of rage as he began to claw at his face. Not missing a beat, Mugen put one hand on the dying man's shoulder and pushed him up far enough to pull his sword out. Shoving the body away, he easily swung his bloodied weapon around in a low arc to disembowel his distracted opponent. With one last groan, the body slumped into a pile of its own entrails on the ground. From underneath the shoulder of the dead man, a tiny creature managed to wedge its way out, letting out a squeak of distaste.

"_Huh_?" At the sound of Mugen's startled voice, Momo let out another displeased squeak before darting off into a nearby bush. "If that little rat's here, then that means…"

With impeccable timing, an extremely disgruntled Fuu fell out a tree not too far from Mugen with a yelp and he laughed in spite of himself, sliding his sword back into the sheathe at his back.

"Well I'll be damned..."


	3. Thin Lines and Sharp Edges

First, I am SO sorry I have not updated in a few months. Life has taken over, and I now have a full time job as an English teacher in Japan. Sounds fun (and it is) but it's also exhausting and time consuming. I did manage to whip this out though, and I apologize if it's terrible. I couldn't seem to end the chapter in a way I was completely happy with, but if I didn't end it there, this chapter probably would've gone on for another 3,000 words... Thanks to those that reviewed, and if you review this time around, please please please tell me how I'm doing with characterization. That is literally my only request. Other than that, enjoy!

**Chapter 3 / Thin Lines and Sharp Edges**

After wandering over to the young girl and realizing that she wasn't going to get up with a knot the size of a baseball on her head, Mugen threw the petite girl over his shoulder and headed back to camp. In his eagerness to kick some ass, he had actually wandered quite a ways away, though still within sight of the flickering light of the fire.

Fuu's skinny frame jostled against his shoulder with every step, and Mugen noted how her bones constantly jutted into him. She was definitely all bones and sharp angles from what he could tell. Apparently he had been right all along in accusing her of having the physique of a plank. _Not soft like a woman at all_, he thought with a slight smirk. He'd definitely have to hold it over her head once she woke up.

"For how much you eat, you'd think you'd be a fat ass by now, girly " He half expected Fuu to reach up and clock him but she stayed silent over his shoulder. A chuckle rumbled through his chest. _Musta really hit her head good._

Reaching the camp, Mugen found his other companion crouched over the crumpled form of another man, quickly observing that it was the one that had listed the accusations against them.

As Jin peered down at the fallen man, the samurai felt a wave of disgust come over him. It had been so easy to get information out of him. The shogunate was really slacking off on hiring proper samurai these days if men like him were put in charge of groups, even small ones like the one Mugen had just single-handedly decimated. It was something that made Jin glad that he was no longer honor bound to follow the orders of such men—one of the few times he was glad he had become somewhat of an outlaw in the eyes of the law.

"Ya know," Mugen started, freeing Jin from his thoughts, "if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were queer." With that, the bloodied swordsman made his way to the tatami mats they had set out earlier.

"What are you doing?" Jin lifted his gaze from Furukawa to the girl thrown over Mugen's shoulder, an eyebrow quirked suggestively.

"Could ask you the same thing," Mugen muttered, referring to Jin's odd proximity to Furukawa. "Shoulda just killed him."

"I was getting information," Jin stated simply

"Where's the fun in that?" Mugen's forte was killing first and figuring things out later, if at all—not restraining himself long enough to knock an enemy out and see _why_ they wanted to kill him in the first place.

Realizing he would get nowhere with the Ryukyuan, Jin turned from him and looked back down at the man before him.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Oh, nothin'. Just fell out of a tree and onto her head. Don't know how she got up there. I swear, the chick's half animal," Mugen said as he set Fuu down roughly on the mat. He wasn't about to admit that her flying rat had quite possibly saved his life, if not just a nasty wound. He'd have to keep her mouth shut about it somehow. If she let it slip to Jin that she had saved his ass—if only inadvertently—he would likely never live it down. Not that Jin would _say_ anything, but he had his own ways of rubbing things in. With him, all it took was a look to convey that he was amused by something, and Mugen wasn't about to give him the chance to send him a humored glance.

"We have to talk tomorrow." Jin's eyes were back on Mugen, a seriousness adorning his face.

"Eh? What's so important that you can't just be out with it now?"

"Because I'd rather Fuu be awake to listen to what I've learned from this man."

"The girly probably wouldn't care either way."

"Regardless of that, this matter deals directly with her, and I'd rather discuss together with the two of you tomorrow." Jin stood and wandered over to his tatami mat, signaling the end of the conversation.

At this, Mugen straightened to full height over Fuu's limp form. Being chased by the shogunate wasn't something new, but Mugen had assumed that Kariya's death would've been the end of that. The whole situation was kind of fishy, now that he thought about it. He couldn't help but think there was something she wasn't telling them. The shogunate wouldn't waste their time on them if it wasn't something half ways important.

As he looked down at her, Mugen's fists clenched involuntarily. He could feel his brain pulling at buried thoughts as he took in her small form. Defenseless. Helpless. This was how she appeared to him now, her body haphazardly strewn across the tatami mat, pink lips slightly parted and breathing evenly in peaceful ignorance. A small wave of protectiveness washed over him and he turned away, trying to fend off the unfamiliar feeling. She was weak, and that was a quality that he detested. She was weak, and the weak always leeched off the strong until they ended up dead. She was weak… and he had been saving her ass since day one. She was weak… and he couldn't figure out why he—

Mugen stopped the thought before it could complete itself, mentally shoving the feelings away into a place where he hoped they would never resurface from.

Casting down a guarded glance at the slumbering girl, he nudged her arm off of the dirt and onto her tatami mat with his foot before ambling away to his own resting place. As he settled on his mat, he couldn't suppress the slight shiver that prickled at his skin despite the warmth of the night. There was a storm coming—and it wasn't the kind that brought rain.

The morning was not kind to Fuu as she regained consciousness. Her head throbbed painfully the instant she awoke, and she had to lie still for a moment just to make sure the world wasn't actually spinning and that it was only her. If she didn't know any better, she would've guessed that she was suffering from a severe hangover. However, it didn't take long for the memories to begin flooding back.

Raising a hand, she gently rubbed the left side of her head, knowing exactly when she found the spot that plagued her. A nice goose egg had planted itself behind her left ear, and Fuu cringed at the size it had swelled to. Sitting up slowly, Fuu felt the pulses of pain fade slightly as blood flow to her head lessened.

"Dammit, Mugen," she muttered through gritted teeth. It was all because of that jackass that this had happened. If he would've been more cautious…

"Don't damn me, girly, it was your own fault you were up that tree. You shoulda known better with that klutzy streak of yers."

Opening her eyes, she could see Mugen crouched over the remains of a fire with a small potato on a stick in hand. His mouth was set in a firm line as he twirled the potato over the smoking coals, and Fuu felt a giggle bubble its way out of her throat at the seriousness of his concentration. In response, Mugen sent her a glare that could have withered flowers on the spot.

"I don't know what yer laughin' at, but you'd better can it if you don't want me to come over there and knock yer ass back out for another hour." Fuu stifled another giggle at his threat, not really caring whether it was empty or not.

"Ya know, it might be less funny to you if you realized this is the last thing to eat until the next town… but I guess ya snooze, ya lose." The girl was about to speed over to where he was—headache be damned—but before she could move he had lifted the potato to his lips and devoured it in two giant bites. Fuu felt her irritation level rise a notch. No one dangled food in front of her face and lived to tell about it.

"You big jerk! Is that what I get for saving your ass—" Mugen's head jerked toward her so fast that she stopped in mid-sentence. He bounded over to her, crouching down on her level and shoving his face up to hers.

"Listen girly, we're gonna keep that little secret between you 'n me, ya hear? Four-eyes don't need to know nothin' about last night. And besides, it wasn't you who flung yourself at that dude, it was that little flying rat." Fuu huffed indignantly, her headache growing as her blood pressure rose.

"Who do you think 'flung' him in your direction? Why would Momo want to save you? He actually really hates you, you know!" She raised her hands and pushed them into his line of sight, saying, "Like he would want to become a squirrel bullet for your sake! He about clawed me to death when I tried to grab him!"

The pirate leaned forward and peered down at her hands, unimpressed at the red scratches that crisscrossed against her small hands.

"Oh, poor baby."

The brunette growled in frustration at his lack of interest, pulling down the collar of her kimono an inch or so, revealing more angry scratches etched into her pale skin.

"Look here, jackass, I had to suffer the wrath of Momo for you!"

"Am I interrupting something?" The two turned toward Jin, noting that both eyebrows were raised in actual interest. Realizing how the situation looked, Fuu hopped backwards away from the man whose face was to close to her chest for comfort, falling stiffly on her behind. Mugen stayed where he was, not particularly concerned.

"She wanted me to have a peak at her tits, so what?" Fuu sputtered in disbelief, a brilliant crimson flush spreading across her cheeks. "Not that she has much to stare at in the first place…"

With that, the petite girl began radiating murderous intent, and Mugen stepped away in uncharacteristic uncertainty. As she began glaring daggers at him, Jin cleared his throat to get their attention.

"We have something to discuss."

Slightly sobered by Jin's taciturn demeanor, Fuu cooled her rage for the moment. She knew that Mugen would get his, one way or another. The aforementioned man just crossed his arms and made himself a comfortable seat on the ground, ignoring the girl. Seeing that he had their attention, Jin opened his mouth to speak.

"We've gotten ourselves into a bit of trouble with the law, and I'm not talking just the usual trouble. On Ikitsuki Island, the man I fought went by the name of Kariya, as I'm sure you both know." He paused to see that they both understood, but was greeted with one face of boredom and the other of mild fear at the mention of the name. He continued.

"I'm sure you both also know that he was a man who worked for the government. That said, he was a very important man. When I managed to kill him, I knew it was inevitable that the shogunate would find out and try to track down the one who killed him…"

Fuu felt herself tense as Jin spoke. With each word, a sense of unexplained foreboding began slipping into her chest and distributing itself among her extremities. It wasn't as if she _hadn't_ thought about the government coming after them again, but…

"I was beginning to doubt my suspicions when we didn't encounter anyone, both in our time separated and the past couple weeks that we've been together. However, the men who attacked us yesterday are government samurai who were told to bring us back to Edo dead or alive. Of course, they were no match for us. I managed to get some answers from the leader of the group, and decided that it was time to have a discussion on the issue." Jin shifted his gaze to Fuu.

"Fuu, one of the charges that were brought against us according to the shogunate's men is treason. I inquired into the root of the accusation, and it seems that you have been specifically charged with plotting against the government." All the color drained from the girl's face as her gaze dropped to the ground, disbelieving. Even Mugen felt mild surprise come over him.

"But why? I can't say I've done everything legally in my life but…" Her head shook from side to side and her hands clenched on her lap, her nails digging into the fabric of her kimono.

"I can't say for sure. The man wasn't high enough in rank to know such information, apparently."

Fuu blindly stared into the dirt, raking through her memories trying to find any clue as to what she had done to receive such a charge. Nothing came immediately to mind. In fact, nothing came to mind at all, even after a long moment.

Jin stayed silent as she continued to search her thoughts for answers. He, himself, wasn't sure what could have caused such accusations. His only conclusion was that Fuu wasn't telling them something, whether that was intentional or accidental. Seeing the worry etched so clearly on her young face made him think it was latter of the two. Fuu wasn't a secretive person by any means—actually, she had a bad habit of running her mouth more than she should—so it wasn't believable that she would knowingly hide something important like this. The only thing she had managed to successfully hide from them for a time had been her relationship with the sunflower samurai, and even that had come out with enough badgering on his and Mugen's parts.

"Eh," Mugen shrugged casually after a moment. "Not like it really changes anything from before."

"Like hell it doesn't," Fuu said, snapping out of her thoughts. "Plotting against the government is a major crime, punishable by death!"

"Yeah, well so is stealing, killing, and evading the law, and we've done those plenty." Mugen counted each crime with his fingers to make his point. He lifted his other hand as he continued. "We're also still homeless, hungry, and broke, not to mention there still aren't any hot babes around."

Fuu could feel her temper spark at his words but didn't say anything. This _did _change things as far as she saw it. They were being actively pursued now, which hadn't really been a factor in the past until the last leg of their journey. Some of the most frightening moments of her life had occurred during their jaunt to Ikitsuki Island. It wasn't just the fact that she had been abducted and almost killed, either. A kidnapping of circumstance was one thing—a thing that had happened to her many, many times—but a kidnapping with intent to murder her and her bodyguards was something entirely different…

A wave of cold washed through her as she reminisced over one of the darkest times of her life. The only time that had ever trumped it had been the death of her mother. Fuu couldn't help but wonder if she was entering yet another murky period in her young life.

Switching her attention to her oddly silent companions, she didn't know what to do. If they continued to travel together, she might get them all killed. The scenes from the island flashed briefly through her head and she flinched at the memory. Was it really worth it to risk the same thing happening again when they had nothing in particular they were even looking for?

"Maybe we should just split up again." The words were out of Fuu's mouth before she knew it. Despite the lack of reaction from her once bodyguards, she felt a strong pang of emotion cut through her after she spoke. A lump formed in her throat not long after, and she knew she really didn't mean it. However, if she was going to be pursued as a true criminal this time, she would rather not get Mugen and Jin more involved than they already were. She had almost watched them both die after they had followed her to Ikitsuki Island the first time, and it wasn't as if they were honor bound to do anything more for her…

Neither man responded immediately to her suggestion and her vision sank back to the ground before her. Her hands clenched the fabric of her kimono tighter as the silence dragged and a sinking feeling began to emerge in the pit of her stomach as she began to dread what they would say. Would they really leave her?

"If that is truly your wish, then I will honor it." Fuu's chest tightened painfully as Jin spoke, the sinking feeling within her threatening to swallow her whole. Before she could say anything, he continued. "However, I don't feel that it is truly what you desire, or that it is even logical to part at all."

"But what about Ikitsuki Island? You guys almost died there because of me—" The sentence didn't even fully leave her mouth before she was cut off.

"Listen here, girly. I don't know about four-eyes over here, but I wasn't fighting because of _you_. That was from somethin' that happened long before you ever came around, so don't go on getting' ideas or flatterin' yourself or anything. It ain't as if we haven't done our own shit to warrant bein' killed by the shogunate." Mugen stood suddenly then, an odd expression pressed against the hardened plains of his face. "An' if he don't have the balls to say it, then I will—you're a helpless little whelp without us around. Do you really think you're better off without us? 'Cause I call bullshit."

"But Mugen, I'd just slow you guys down! If we split up, at least you guys would have a chance—"

"Ya know, you're really pissin' me off right now, so I'd shut it if I were you." The edge in his voice made Fuu immediately go quiet. She was not usually one to be subdued so easily, but something told her not to push him any farther, and her gaze sunk into her lap in shame.

Jin merely stared at the other swordsman blankly, his expression not betraying his thoughts. He knew the truth in Mugen's words despite his tactlessness in conveying them. Realistically there was no way they could leave the girl alone in this situation.

"For now at least, we stay together," the bespectacled samurai stated. "I'm rather curious about the situation, myself."

Fuu acknowledged his words with a slight tilt of the head, her grip unwinding from her now crumpled kimono. The sinking feeling within her had subsided into an unexpected wave of relief at their words, but a part of her still remained uneasy about dragging them into another difficult situation.

Mugen turned on his heel away from the pair, fists involuntarily clenched at his sides as he stood there. Tension hung heavy within him, and he couldn't place where it had come from. _I don't like this_, he thought to himself, not knowing whether he was referring to himself or the situation at hand. _Not one bit_.


	4. Liar Game

Well... It's certainly been a while. Sorry about the wait. I've been so utterly bogged down with life lately. I didn't get to go home and see my family (and more importantly, my dog) for Christmas, so I stayed here and picked up snowboarding to take out my frustrations. And wouldn't you know... I'm actually pretty good at it! A month and a half later and I can keep up with my friends and make it down intermediate slopes without much of a problem. So yeah, I guess that's my excuse? Yeah, let's just say it was snowboarding and not laziness. Anyway, I busted ass this week (read: wrote this on work time) to get this done. And here it is. Finally. Weirdly enough, the more I wrote, the more it came to me. Sorry if it gets a bit choppy toward the end. I was beginning to lose patience with getting this out.

Thanks to all those that have given me some sort of response for this story! Honestly, I got a weird stream of favorites/follows/reviews over the past couple months, and it really motivated me to write again. Thank you guys! And here we go~

**Chapter 4 / Liar Game  
**

The trio traveled in silence until they somehow stumbled across a bustling town at midday. All of their stomachs growled simultaneously, and their course was set without saying a word.

They stepped into the first ramen shop they could find, nearly collapsing on the spot from hunger, exhaustion, and for Fuu in particular, worry. Jin's words had shaken her, and she didn't know quite how to react. She knew going to the police and pleading her innocence was completely out of the question. She wasn't so naïve that she would think they would believe her. They would sooner have her executed than even listen to a word she said.

Since she couldn't go to the police, the only thing she could really do at the moment was keep evading the law. It was something she and her former bodyguards had an impressive amount of experience in, though it was 50/50 as to how much of that experience was actually successful, the girl couldn't help but note. Despite that, it made sense to keep on the run until a better option revealed itself to the trio, though Fuu had to admit she had her doubts about finding another solution. Running from the police? Simple: Avoid check points; Don't attract attention; Steer clear of trouble. All of which Fuu knew they had failed miserably at in the past, though they had managed to avoid (or rather escape) them for the most part. Running from the government, who is actively seeking you out?

Fuu would have to get back to herself with that one.

It wouldn't be easy, that much was apparent. However, difficulties hadn't stopped her in the past. She would get through it, one way or another. At least she thought. Or maybe just hoped.

"Sorry for the wait. Here are your orders!" The server's voice cut through the petite girl's worried thoughts as steaming bowls were set on the table in front of her. As the server wandered to another table, Fuu peered over the rim of her bowl and into its depths, nose wrinkling slightly in suspicion.

"I don't remember ordering this…" Her gaze lifted to the two men sitting adjacent to her who were already stuffing their faces ardently. They showed no sign of stopping to reply to her, or that they'd even heard her at all. Few things in life annoyed Fuu more than people not listening to her.

"Hey!"

When that didn't garner their attention, she struck out a foot underneath the low table and nailed one of them in the shin, receiving an angry grunt in response before Mugen gazed over the top of his bowl at her, eyes narrowed.

"'The hell you want, girlie? Can't you see I'm tryin' to stuff my face, here?"

"I'm glad that you can enjoy it, but what is _this_!" With a huff, she pushed the bowl toward him, and he spared a quick flick of the eyes down to survey it for all of one second.

"It's _oden,_" he intoned before tipping his bowl back and taking in another gulp of hot noodles, still steaming liquid dribbling haphazardly down his chin. Fuu's fingers dug into the side of the table as she felt her daily capacity to deal with bullshit quickly expend itself.

"I didn't order _oden_, you moron…"

"Well you musta, 'cause that's what the broad brought ya," came the muffled reply.

"Mugen… I hate _oden_… Never in our time together have I ever eaten it!" At this, the swordsman paused in his grubbing, chewing the noodles absentmindedly as he tilted his head in some semblance of thought.

"Oh yeah, me 'n Jin ordered it for you 'cause you were too busy being spaced out over there. The server broad asked you three times what you wanted and you never answered." With that, Mugen's attention fixed back on his meal, finishing it in another giant swig before setting the bowl down roughly on the table. "Besides, you always bitch and moan about savin' money, so we got you the cheapest thing the place has. Be grateful for once."

While realizing he did have a point, she then came to another realization….

"If that's right, then why didn't you and Jin have _oden_?"

"Because we had a little bit of extra money left over from you getting _oden_, so we got some ramen."

Fuu was about to slap Mugen upside the head, but was interrupted by her equally guilty comrade.

"You two should stop drawing so much attention to yourselves. It wouldn't do to get spotted just as we've found a town to rest in. It would be better to maintain a low profile while around people, anyway."

"If you two wouldn't do stupid, childish things, I wouldn't be like this!" Fuu sat back with a huff and crossed her arms, a childlike pout on her round face.

"Says the one who's acting all of 5 years old right now."

Fuu said nothing and remained with her arms crossed, slouched against the wall at her back. Despite what had been said earlier, it seemed that things hadn't really changed between the three of them. Somewhere in her heart, she was glad. She was happy that they could go on like life was normal, or rather, as normal as it got for them. For as much as they knew how to press her buttons—and they did that all too constantly for their own good, in her mind—she was definitely glad to still be traveling with them.

Casting one last glare at Jin and Mugen, Fuu begrudgingly picked up her chopsticks and dug them into her _oden_. Well, in the long run she was glad, but at the moment she was still rather irritated.

After Fuu managed to pick the edible bits out of her bowl, they set out from the inside of the restaurant and into the warming sunlight of the day. People bustled back and forth across the road leading deeper into the city, each seemingly with their own sense of purpose in what they were doing. Fuu found herself more than a little jealous. How long had it been since she had no direction in her life? Probably since around the time her father left, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly when. The driving urge to find her father had been with her for so long…

And now that it wasn't there, she felt a little lighter. _No,_ she thought to herself as she stood watching people pass by. _Not lighter, emptier._

Fuu nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a slight hand fall on her shoulder.

"Fuu, are you all right?" Jin studied the girl with a wrinkled brow, looking uncharacteristically concerned for his usually stoic demeanor.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Shaking her head slightly, she plastered a bright smile on her face. _Thinking about it will do nothing to for me,_ she told herself. _It's time to move on with my life._

Just as she turned from Jin, Fuu barely caught an audible mumbling coming from her more uncouth companion.

"What was that?"

Mugen didn't respond right away, instead shuffling his feet restlessly in the dirt. Releasing a loud sigh, Fuu fixed a hand on her hip and lowered a defiant stare in his direction.

"If you have something to say, say it. It's weird for you to be all moody-broody and not be the brutally honest ass you usually are." She paused for a second before quickly adding, "Not that I really _want _you to be an ass… if you're turning over a new leaf then by all means, do so."

The swordsman merely tilted his head back in a wide yawn, scratching the back of his head.

"You know, you're one to talk about moody-broody with how you acted in the restaurant, so I don't wanna hear your shit."

A red flush sprang to Fuu's cheeks at his words, admitting silently that he was dead-on. Suddenly, a devious smirk formed upon her lips and she brought a hand up to seemingly try to hide the small laugh creeping up within her.

"Yeah, well, you're one to talk as well, since I'm sure your pride still hurts from Momo—"

Mugen stiffened, an eyebrow twitching in irritation.

"That rat-thing didn't do shit, so shut the hell up and let's get going." He took a step into the street and strode away from the other two, an angry trail of muttering left in his wake. Fuu's chest puffed out with pride at her total victory, and she decided that she would have to hang that incident over his head more often. It wasn't every day she could get such a rise out of him.

Jin's eyes went back and forth between the gloating girl and the retreating swordsman for a moment before his gaze finally settled on Fuu, who was unaware of his attention. He kept all curiosity from his features, and merely told himself that he'd rather not know what was going on when it concerned those two. It would do nothing but bring him a headache, he knew. Instead, he turned attention back to where Mugen was walking away, agitation apparent with every purposeful stride.

"Should we tell him he's heading back the way we came?"

Fuu pulled herself out of her smug thoughts long enough to shrug her shoulders, a satisfied expression apparent on her youthful face.

"Nah, he'll figure it out." With that, the duo left the entryway of the restaurant and set out deeper into the town.

* * *

Mugen hadn't gotten too far before he realized that he was walking straight out of the town that they had just barely managed to find in the first place. Instead of turning around and potentially facing the two people he had strove to get away from, he decided to stay on the outskirts for a while, finding an abundantly leafy tree to relax under. He sat with his back against the trunk, plucking a stray piece of grass and placing it between his teeth.

"What utter bullshit," he remarked to the air, earning a glance or two from the people traveling along the road a few feet from him. He grasped both hands together and stretched them out in front of him, pulling the muscles in his arms taut before reaching up and folding them behind his head.

Sometimes he didn't know why he even bothered to stay with the brat and asshole, but then he would remember that life just wasn't as interesting without them around, which was also…

"Utter bullshit!" He breathed again, irritated with himself for being irritated in the first place. This time, an older man stopped along the road and looked at Mugen, his face partially registering a mix of concern and suspicion. A sudden head jerk and murderous glance sent him hurrying along on his way, and the swordsman decided he just couldn't be bothered to deal with people today. Kicking off his shoes roughly into the itchy grass, he slid over and slouched against the other side of the tree, still grinding the blade of grass between his teeth.

This whole situation was stupid—that much he knew. From the rat to the accusation of treason, everything was fucked up. He saw this as both good and bad. On the one hand, he would get to see plenty of action in the coming days, as there were sure to be an abundance of government hires out for their heads, but at the same time, it meant he and Jin were on babysitting duty until the whole thing was resolved. The last thing he wanted right now was to be trapped somewhere with the girl. She was a devious witch when she wanted to be, and until he could get something to blackmail her with, he would have to play nice for a while, which was not his forte.

The ex-pirate contemplated the thought of just not giving a shit about four-eyes finding out, but the whole idea just rubbed him the wrong way. It wasn't in his natured to get saved by skinny wenches with pet squirrels, or at least not when anyone could find out.

It wasn't long until he couldn't take anymore thinking and stood suddenly, with one clear destination in mind.

"I need a drink."

* * *

After a couple hours of searching, Jin and Fuu managed to find proper (cheap) accommodations for themselves and their lost comrade. They were staying in an inn that provided small, yet surprisingly clean rooms, and also prepared dinner for guests. She and Jin ate a quiet dinner together, both lost in their own thoughts until the last bit of soup was emptied from their bowls.

"I have to say, I'm impressed with this place," Fuu gushed, patting her full belly. "I didn't think we'd find such a good deal in a big town like this."

Jin agreed with a mere bob of the head. It wasn't often they stumbled upon a bit of luck. Usually, that only meant one thing—trouble was coming. Of course, he didn't voice this to the pink clad girl sitting across from him at the table. Since he had told her about the information he had gotten out of Furukawa, she had been acting a little strangely. It wasn't like her to mull over something so deeply—especially when food was being ordered. And then again, outside of the restaurant, her expression had been tinged forlorn and he couldn't help but reach out and attempt to console her in some small way, though he knew that she would never own up to having something weighing so heavily on her mind. He had almost confronted her on the issue, but Mugen had beaten him to it. Being as blunt as the Ryukyuuan was, it was probably a good thing she hadn't quite heard him The last thing he wanted was to upset Fuu any more than she already was. Let her have her ruse of being fine. It was one of the few comforts he was able to afford her.

And he supposed he could understand her predicament in a way, as he had been young when he had to run from the law. It wasn't simple, and it wasn't pretty.

And it didn't go away easily.

Jin merely sipped his tea and kept his thoughts to himself. He didn't look up as Fuu stood from her side of the table and brushed the remaining crumbs of her meal from the front of her kimono.

"Well, I suppose it's time to go find that idiot. We _did _pay for three people to stay here, and though I would love the thought of that rude jerk spending the night outside, I'd hate to waste the money we spent." She stepped down into her sandals on the floor below, meaning to leave the inn when Jin spoke.

"Let me go. It'll be easier for me to find him."

"Why don't we just go together then? Two heads are better than one."

"If he's wandering around in the red light district, then you would have to wait outside, and it would be best not to be off on your own right now." The samurai's words washed over her in a cold wave, reminding her of the situation at hand, and she mentally tried to shake it off.

"I managed to avoid the law before, Jin, so don't worry about me." She couldn't help but think about the last time she had tried to outrun the government, and the disastrous results that followed. Jin saw through to her thoughts almost instantly.

"Fuu, this is the government we're dealing with. They sent Kariya after us before, and they might send someone else of his caliber, whether that be in skill or ruthlessness. It's highly unwise to take a chance with something like that."

She couldn't win against his argument, she knew, but she didn't want to have to stay put any time her two comrades ran off to do _whatever_. It wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself… most of the time. The will to argue rose within her, but nothing came to mind to use against him. Her mouth opened to speak, and subsequently closed without a word. There was no way Jin would let her go. Even when she had said they should split up, he had been the first to show disapproval.

Finally, a sigh emerged from Fuu as she slid in next to the table again, her sandals still dangling loosely from her feet just above the floor.

"Fine," she conceded, not facing him again. "Just don't come back expecting me to fix either of you up if you pick a fight or something."

Jin drained the remainder of the tea from the cup in his hand and stood silently, gathering up his swords from the tatami. Stepping into his straw sandals, he hooked the swords to his side and stepped silently toward the door before pausing. He spared her one last glance, noting the way she had completely turned away from him, body bent slightly in defeat.

_Don't do anything foolish, Fuu. You'll put us all in danger if we have to come after you ._Leaving that last unsaid thought with the room, he left the inn.

* * *

Fuu waited a full ten minutes before her patience deserted her and she ran out of the building. Just to be safe, she left through the rear exit, almost expecting Jin to be waiting to ambush her there. When she saw no one, she relaxed a bit. Well, that was one obstacle cleared. _Now to find the idiot…_

As she moved along the streets, she tried to fathom where he could have gone. He wouldn't leave town, she knew, so she wouldn't have to look around the entrance they had come through earlier in the day. If she was right, which she generally was when it came to him, he didn't have enough money to book an inn. Or rather, he wouldn't waste the money to book an inn. There were three main things that interested him that Fuu knew of—fighting, booze, and hookers. That actually narrowed it down quite a bit, she realized.

If he was fighting, she would know. He wasn't like Jin in regards to method, in which the bespectacled samurai always sought to end the battle as quickly and quietly as possible. No, he would be as loud and obnoxious as he possibly could, thriving in the destruction of his opponent and his surroundings. Fuu stopped for a moment and listened. _No screams, no sound of things being broken, no one running frantically… definitely not fighting then_.

She also contemplated the possibility of hookers, and discerned that it was a pretty likely possibility in relation to his whereabouts. He could get food, drink, sex, and maybe even a fight in a brothel. However, trying to get into a brothel to have a look around wasn't worth the risk. Not only would she have to sneak into the red light district, but she would probably actually get put _in_ the brothel knowing her luck. It'd be even worse if Mugen were actually there and saw her. She could just imagine his snickering face…

Yeah, that was definitely not happening. Bar, it was.

Bars were their own kind of danger for her, but not because it was _her_. Because she was a _female_, it was inevitable that she'd get groped or harassed or grabbed. The thought wasn't pleasant, but she could handle herself. She had made it through her last job without too many mishaps, and only one nearly-getting-a-finger-cut-off incident. Oh, how simple life had been before Mugen has stepped through the doorway.

In that instant, she decided that it was probably best to start looking from where she had last seen him. Since the city seemed to have a healthy amount of foot traffic, she could only imagine that there were a number of bars between the restaurant they had eaten at and the entrance to town. It might be a bit of a long shot, considering the situation was heavily reliant on Mugen not being at a brothel or in bar not in that vicinity, but Fuu pumped one fist in the air enthusiastically. "All right, let's do this!"

A few bars later, she was not so eager to keep going. Every time she managed to sidle unobtrusively into an establishment for a swift walk through, there was some jerk that would make a comment or gesture, or sometimes even just send her a look that made her skin rise with goose bumps. It made her feel incredibly bare and vulnerable without her formidable bodyguards around.

She pushed back the cloth flap covering the doorway of the next place gently, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She failed miserably when she nearly ran straight into a man who was trying to leave at the same time.

"Hey, well what do we have here? Some young lady lookin' for a bit of company?" While not physically unattractive, the tall and built man she had almost ran into gave off a persona that Fuu could tell was more rotten than some of the corpses she had seen on her journey with Mugen and Jin. His black eyes glittered down at her with a sort of force that made her squirm uncomfortably. There was nothing good in those hungry eyes.

"No, sir, I'm just looking for someone…" Fuu tried to slide past him into the bar but the man shot out a hand against the door frame, blocking her way.

"Now, now…" He leaned forward into her face and Fuu shied away from the stench of booze that radiated from his breath. "If he ain't even gonna escort ya, then he must not even be worthy o' drinkin' with a girl like you. You're a bit of a youngin', but ya sure are a pretty one…"

A hand reached up and grabbed Fuu's chin, and she immediately pushed the man away with enough force to send him stumbling. Before he fell away, he grabbed her wrist and she was toppling into the restaurant with him. He tumbled over heavily in his drunken state and let out a huff of air as Fuu's slight frame fell on top of him, compressing his diaphragm. The few customers seated inside the bar murmured in curiosity at the spectacle, most of the men chuckling to themselves in knowing amusement. Hurriedly, Fuu pushed herself off of his chest and attempted to untangle her feet from his, trying to stand.

"'The fuck…?" Temporarily dazed, the drunken man grasped onto one of Fuu's wrists and pulled her back down to his level. "What the fuck 're you tryin' to do here, girl? I was jus' tryin' to be friendly. Stop bein' such 'n ungrateful wench."

With great effort, he managed to sit up using Fuu as leverage. She pulled at her arm, but he only gripped tighter in defiance and yanked her closer.

"Listen here, now. Ya should say yer sorry for knockin' a gentleman such as m'self over. Come to think of it, ya never even apologized fer runnin' into me the first time, neither." He squeezed harder as he leaned in close to Fuu's face, growling.

"Get up," he muttered, his voice going low and dangerous. The twinkling of mischief that had lit his eyes earlier had been replaced with a harsh glow in the dim light of the lanterns in the establishment. His eyes were so dark, Fuu could see herself reflected there, pale and small in their depths. She stood with him, though he teetered unsteadily and nearly fell into her until he gained his footing with the help of a nearby wooden beam.

"C'mon, girl, tell me how yer gonna make it up to me. An' don't expect to get off easy. I ain't a kind man when people cross me. Just ask m' wife!" At this, his head tipped back in a hearty laugh until a hiccup cut him off and his attention snapped back to the girl in front of him. He yanked on her arm, causing her to stumble against him. "Now, what'dya gotta say fer yerself?"

She stayed silent, instead looking away from him, her eyes settling on the table behind him. Unsatisfied at her lack of reaction, he jerked her again, this time nearly lifting the petite teen off of her feet. The force of the motion caused the man to grow shaky on his own feet again, and suddenly Fuu rushed into him, causing him to fall backwards onto the table. Still unwilling to let her go, Fuu fell with him, landing squarely on his middle. Before he could regain his wits, she did the only thing she could think to do and grabbed a sake pitcher that had skittered off of the side of the table when he fell, swinging it down toward his head with as much force as she could muster in her skinny arm.

It shattered against the man's forehead, knocking the man out completely in one fell swoop and leaving a minor slice along the top of his left eyebrow. Feeling all eyes on her, Fuu pulled away from the man's limp hand and fled through the doorway. There were a few protesting voices behind her as she ran, but she didn't bother to see if anyone was following her.

She sprinted through the dimly lit streets until she was out of breath under the now night sky. She found temporary shelter in a darkened alley next to a different establishment, this one noisy enough to give her cover as she tried to calm her frantic thoughts. Under the veil of darkness, she sunk to her heels and tried to regain her breathe. Gently rubbing her aching wrist, she tried to suppress the stinging of rising tears as the adrenaline faded from her veins. Somehow, she always got herself into these messes, no matter how careful she was.

A barely audible low groan nearly scared Fuu into a dead faint and she jumped to her feet, her tears and frustration forgotten in her terror. In her hurry to flee, she hadn't given her eyes enough time to adjust from the lantern light when she entered the dark alleyway to see that she had squatted next to someone who had taken up residence there. Pressed flat against the wall opposite of the man, Fuu suddenly realized that the man was actually very familiar looking…

"Mugen?!"

"…girlie?" His head tilted up in slight recognition at her voice. Her assumption proven right, she allowed herself to pull away from the wall.

"I should have known you'd be passed out in an alleyway somewhere. I'm surprised you're not in a whore house or something."

"I was," he giggled drunkenly, "but I got kicked out because the bitch wouldn't—"

Fuu threw up her hands in disgust, covering her ears.

"No, no. I don't even want to know what goes on between you and some woman. "

"Oh, really?" He pulled himself up off of the wall, leaning slightly into the lantern light of the road. Fuu could see his trademark smirk lining his lips. "I'm sure you've been curious about it once or twice. Here." He managed to bring himself to his knees and shuffle over to her. "I can tell you a thing or five about what goes down in those places. Never know when you're gonna need to know that kind of stuff. Maybe if you find a man it'll come in handy, and then you can't say ole Mugen never did ya any favors."

As he got close, Fuu pulled a sleeve over her face, trying to block out the scent of sake.

"Mugen, you reek of booze. Let's just head back to the inn. Besides, I couldn't really give a rat's ass about your sex life. If I took advice from you, I'd probably never find a man to settle down with." At this, Mugen feigned a pout, which Fuu noted looked all too odd on his normally scowling face.

"And what's that supposed to mean? I'mma great guy! Ain't a bad thing about me!" Fuu kept her arm raised to hide the small smile she couldn't suppress.

"Well then, let me get in line behind all the other girls waiting to get with you." At this, a giggle escaped her and she ducked her entire face behind her sleeve to try and regain her composure. Mugen's eyes narrowed at her reaction and he crawled closer to the petite girl who was now in the middle of a fit of barely checked laughter.

"Hey, now, whatcha laughin' at?" He reached out a calloused hand to bat away her raised arm, trying to push it down and out of the way. When he met more resistance than expected, her grabbed onto her wrist and forced her arm down, and in an instant, Fuu's expression went from one of humor to one of pain.

"Mugen, let go."

Partially confused, the swordsman relaxed his grip, though he didn't let go completely. With a slight tilt of the head, and asked, simply as a child, "Why?"

"Because I said so. Didn't your mother ever teach you to be gentle with a woman?" Mugen raised an eyebrow, taking in her words.

"I don't think anyone's mother should teach them that sort of thing…"

"Ugh, stop being a pervert, Mugen. That's not even what I'm talking about, and you know it."

"I grew up in Ryuukyuu, remember? You really think I knew my mother?"

Momentarily stunned, Fuu didn't say anything. How was she supposed to respond this situation? She had always kind of wondered about his past, but every time she'd inquired, he'd either told her to go bother someone else or just not replied at all. Looking at him now, Mugen's face revealed no hint as to what he was thinking by telling her this, his eyes hooded and darkened with the alcohol coursing through his veins. And all at once it felt wrong having him tell her anything personal while he was in this state.

"Let go," she urged quietly, deciding that the best solution was simply not replying to him at all.

"No," he replied simply.

"Ugh, now you're just being a child."

"So says the one who won't even answer a simple question." Realizing she was reentering the danger zone, she tried to redirect the comment right back at him.

"You don't ever even answer _my _questions, you ass!"

Mugen shrugged nonchalantly at her words. "'Cause I'm an adult and I don't have to."

"Oh, you…" Fuu was so enraged that no words could form in her brain to convey the level of anger that he had just invoked.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way…" Fuu opened her mouth to protest, but Mugen spoke before she could utter a word. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened—" Quicker than Fuu would have ever expected from a drunk person, despite it being _Mugen_ of all people, he pulled down the sleeve of her kimono to the elbow, revealing reddened skin just beginning to turn a darker hue. Caught, Fuu knew she had to come up with something. Unfortunately, her brain wasn't working with her.

"I-I fell…?" The look Mugen leveled in her direction let her know her mistake almost immediately.

"Bullshit." The word fell from his lips in such an acidic way that Fuu thought she would melt away on the spot.

"Okay, so something happened… but it's all right. I took care of myself."

"Like hell you did." Grabbing her other hand, he pulled it palm up. "I can really tell you can take care of yourself."

A few shallow red cuts dashed across her skin, intersecting with the day old ones Momo had left. She hadn't even noticed the raised and swollen marks lining her ashen skin. Ashamed, she ducked her head.

"But you and Jin come back with worse all the time. I don't see how this is any different," she argued feebly, retracting her hands.

"Oh, I think there's a pretty big difference when me an' Jin get into shit. Like the fact that we have weapons an' we know how to use 'em."

"I have a weapon, too, you know," she fought back, pulling her tanto from the inside of her kimono. She drew it, showing him the sharpened blade. He wasn't impressed.

"It's only a weapon in the hands of a killer," he said just loud enough for Fuu's ears to barely catch, "and you ain't no killer."

Half offended and half chagrined, Fuu's mouth dropped open a bit before she could think to keep it shut, but Mugen wasn't yet finished with her. He reached for the hilt of Typhoon Swell, which Fuu only then noticed had been strapped to his back securely in the darkness, and brought it before her. For a moment she thought he was going skewer her right then and there, but instead he pulled forth her uninjured arm and set the smooth handle against her palm. It was heavy enough that she had to bring up her hand to keep a hold on it.

"See this, Fuu? This is a weapon. It's heavy with the blood of the lives I've taken. I can't even keep track of all the people I've cut down with this thing." He hastily took it back, the blade steady within his practiced hand. "And these are the hands of a killer—steady and completely ruthless." With the flick of a wrist, the blade was at her throat, and for a second Fuu thought her heart would explode from her chest, bloody and still beating frantically.

"Ya see? Big difference." With a short chuckle, Mugen retracted the blade, reverting back from his sudden seriousness. "C'mon, girlie, let's get to goin'… wherever we're goin'." Frozen against the wall, Fuu didn't move right away. Just when she thought she knew the man, he went off and did something to surprise her. Well, she supposed 'surprised' was an understatement. Only when her companion sheathed his sword and went to stand did she realize again that he was, in fact, drunk.

As she came to his aid to keep him steady on his feet, she couldn't help but mutter, "For all that talk and action a minute ago, you'd have thought you were dead sober."

"Bitch, my mind's sober. It's only my body that's drunk."

"Somehow, I don't think it works that way, Mugen."

"Oh shut up. An' who're you? A doctor all of a sudden?"

"Well, I _do_ stitch you and Jin up quite a bit…"

"Jus' shut it."

Fuu tossed Mugen's arm over and shoulder and moved from the alleyway with him in tow. While he wasn't the lightest man on the planet, he was still quite heavy for his lanky form. She shuffled slowly along the street with minimal help from her drunken comrade, who has closed his eyes and scuffed along beside her slowly in his metal plated geta. She thought him to be on the verge of falling into a sake-induced coma when he suddenly spoke.

"…ar."

She tilted her ear closer to his head, lolling about next to her shoulder with every step. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"I… a liar…"

"What are even talking about, you drunk ass?" His head jerked and his eyes opened suddenly, seeming to come out of his stupor a bit.

"Earlier. You asked what I had said." He spoke low and in her ear then, his breathe hot against her skin. "I called you a liar."

Suppressing a shiver, it came back to her then. Earlier—when Jin had inquired… and she had answered…

Not even bothering to combat his accusation, she lowered her head, replying with a simple, "Ah."

"Don't lie to me. I don't give a shit if you lie to four-eyes, but don't do it to me. Or at least be more convincing about it. Nothing pisses me off more than a shitty liar thinkin' they can get away with it." Somehow, Fuu doubted that.

"So, I'm guessing Jinny-boy didn't let you just walk out of the door to go wanderin' around on your own, gettin' into trouble. What're you doin' out here anyway? Did some dude offer you food or somethin'?"

"Actually, I came out looking for you."

Fuu felt Mugen jolt beside her and came to a stop.

"Dumbass." She heard it, though it came barely audibly from him.

The rest of the way back he didn't say a word, and Fuu wasn't hopeful enough to believe he felt sorry over what had happened to her. She told herself it was her own fault, and that he had only gone silent because he had fallen back into a drunken haze.

Just before they made it to the inn, he seemed to a stir a little at her side before she could feel him looking at her. Fuu didn't make eye contact and kept scuffling along, hoping to make it back before he could say anything else. But of course, the gods were not on her side.

"You know… I won't tell Jin about your little incident if you keep quiet about that stupid flying rat bullshit in the forest."

"Nope." Of course not. Like she would let something as juicy as her saving his ass go to waste on something so miniscule…

"What, why not?"

"Because Jin's not an idiot like you, he's probably already figured it out. And it's not like you to keep your mouth shut anyway."

Visibly frustrated, he grated out, "Then what can I do to get you to stop holding that shit over my head?"

Without thinking, she replied, "Well, there's a festival coming up in this town in a couple days…"

"Really? Can't you just get ole four-eyes to go with ya?"

"Listen, do you _want_ me to tell Jin about how I saved your ass?" Fuu felt like he was literally asking for it at this point. She had a feeling he didn't have a grasp on the phrase 'beggers can't be choosers.'

"Hey, I'm pretty sure it was actually—"

"We've been over this already. But I didn't want to ask Jin because he's been in one of those broody moods of his lately—"

"And haven't we been over this before, too, girlie?"

Fuu let out a laugh. _Ah, yes._

"Yeah, I guess you're right, for once. But still, don't you think it'd be fun to go to a festival with a pretty girl like me?"

He didn't hesitate in answering. "Not really."

"…Do you want me to tell Jin?"

"Fine, whatever. I'll go."

"Good."

A scarcely contained smile made its way across Fuu's lips at the thought until she asked herself what she was so happy about. She told herself that it was surely the thought of a festival that put some cheer in her life, but somehow she couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't just the coming festivities that made her stomach swirl in excitement.

And that was when Mugen promptly leaned over and threw up all over her feet, and excitement twisted into digust.

"Mugen, you jerk!"

Note: _Oden_ is a really gross (delicious for some, I guess) that I had the displeasure of trying over the course of these past few months. Makes sense since according to wikipedia, it's a winter dish. It consists of "boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku, and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth."

Which reminds me, another random highlight from my life involving food: I got to eat pregnant fish for lunch the other day. It was awful. Not _natto_ bad, but still pretty bad.

All right, hope this was everything you ever dreamed for and more (no, not really)! Optimistically, the next chapter will be out in about a month. I think. I hope... And then we'll get to see what happens to Fuu's poor feet and if Mugen survives the massive beating that he's about to suffer at the hands of a woman scorned. And just where the hell is Jin? Perhaps even I don't know...

Till next time!


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